Related Tags:

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) hoped to rake in some big money during a two-day fundraising swing through the Bay Area this week.

An event was planned for San Francisco’s famed Fairmont Hotel Monday evening. The cost for entrance in an exclusive photo reception was $5,000 and the cost for the photo session and dinner with Boehner came with a $25,000 price tag.

Tuesday, Boehner was expected to make an appearance at a reception at the Menlo Park home of Hewlett-Packard executive Michael Holston, who has also donated to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA). The cost for Tuesday’s reception was reportedly between $2,500 and $3,000 per person.

KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier Comments:

High Profile Republican Comes For Cash In The Bay Area

The Bay Area has long maintained a reputation as a liberal stronghold, but that’s not to say that a more conservative politician can’t make his or her mark in the region.

“Oh, get used to it,” declared KCBS and Chronicle Insider Phil Matier. “There was a time when San Francisco was the home fort of Nancy Pelosi (D-SF) and when she pulled into town it was as if somebody, a president of a small nation was here, the SUVs would be lined up and everybody would roll up, there would be tight security.”

“Now, it’s going to Republican John Boehner,” Matier continued, “and he’s dropping in, not only in her hometown but right at the Fairmont, which has been for decades sort of the center of Democratic fundraising and instead, he’s pulling Republican money out of here. And from the looks of things, he’s having no trouble doing it.”

As Matier so succinctly put it, there are plenty of Republican supporters for Boehner to meet and greet here in the Bay Area.

“A lot of them are capable of writing checks, you know, and Democrats get the issues, get the elections, they get it hands down, this is solidly blue. But, you know, in the Bay Area there are a lot of high end Republicans and a lot of high end Republican-oriented businesses.”